I’m not sure what the thinking was behind that. The site itself — the current maelstrom aside — does little to brand him in any meaningful way; in fact, it really is just straightforwardly generic. Moreover, it’s not as if Tiger Woods needs MLB for increased distribution of his content or to make it easier for people to find him online.

But if there’s a compelling reason for having a company dedicated only to managing the branding of pro athletes handling your online activities instead of a corporate entity like MLB.com, it’s that MLB.com is not paying attention the way that they should be. To make this point, I need go no further than the statement Tiger posted today about his personal transgressions. It’s not the statement that concerns me — it’s the fact that the site has allowed upwards of 4,000 comments to be posted (with more happening every second) without any apparent vetting whatsoever.

Here are just a sample of the most recent — and there are many that are worse:

Angel194 wrote:

Now, Tiger – If I were your wife, I would beat you senseless with your 9 Iron! Men say “we’re only human” well, so is your wife who carried two of your children (while you were having your trysts). All these men posting on here are supportive of you – of course they are because most of them have probably done the same thing. Elin is the one who now has to picture you with that woman/en while she herself was pregnant. You slept with this other person and then came home and slept with your wife – you could have given her an STD or worse! It’s disgusting! You didn’t do this to yourself – you did this to Elin! I feel for her so much because it’s something she will never get over now. It’s always going to be a “wedge” pardon the pun, between you. You’ve ruined the trust in your marriage. Be a man and take your punishment.

NYCFemme wrote:

How is something a private family matter when Tiger was sleeping with multiple women across the globe? Do they get to be part of the private matter, too? I mean, they have seen his… Let’s be real – he wants privacy because there are many more skeleton, or in this case, large-breasted women, who have many details to reveal. The fireworks show should be spectacular.

TorontoFan wrote:

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? How can anyone look at you the same now Tiger? All these posters who say oh he is human and blah blah..and its your business blah blah. Well it just became the world’s business and if ANYone in this world of once-awe-for you says you just made some mistakes…they just don’t GET what this means now. Tiger..you showed you have NO character. You have shown millions of kids and once-admirers all over the world that you have NO respect for yourself and your Family. You not only crashed your car..you crashed your Personal Life. The car is easy to fix. You cannot fix the damage you have done..and the sad thing is that you have such a Selfish EGO..that you don’t even know the damage you have done. Will SAM be the same because Daddy said its ok? Get some professional help for your attitude about others.

Granted, people are going to express sentiments like these all over the web. The one place that users should not be able to post like this, however, is on Tiger’s own web site — particularly in response to an apology that is supposed to help try and put this episode behind him. It’s inexcusable.

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